CABINET OFFICE

Strategy for Transformational Government Enabled by Technology

John Hutton: I have today laid before Parliament the "Strategy for Transformational Government Enabled by Technology" (Cm 6683).
	The strategy describes the opportunity provided by technology to transform the business of Government and how that opportunity might be seized. The strategy was commissioned by the Prime Minister to provide overall technology leadership for Government in three areas. First, the transformation of public services for the benefit of citizens, businesses, taxpayers and frontline staff. Secondly, the efficiency of the corporate services and infrastructure of Government organisations, thus freeing resources for the front-line. Thirdly, the steps necessary to achieve more professional and effective delivery of technology-enabled business change within Government.
	The strategy focuses upon the core themes that each public sector organisation needs to develop into actions for its area of responsibility, and on the supporting actions to be taken across Government as a whole.
	Copies of the strategy have been placed in the Library. A full set of supporting material is available via the Cabinet Office website at: www.cio.gov.uk. The Government have invited comments on the strategy by 3 February 2006.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Increasing the Diversity of the Judiciary

Harriet Harman: My right hon. and noble Friend, the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, has made the following written statement in the other place today:
	"Following my written statement of 13 July this year, I am now announcing further progress on my programme of work to increase the diversity of the judiciary, and my plans for the coming months.
	Achieving a more diverse judiciary is one of my key priorities. Public confidence in the justice system requires that our judges continue to be of the highest quality, appointed solely on merit following a rigorous selection process. To be confident we continue to appoint the best, we need to draw on the widest possible pool of those with the right skills and qualities. This means reaching out to a wider range of potential candidates. A judiciary which comprises a range of experiences and perspectives will continue to be in touch with the communities it serves.
	Since July, my Department has made substantial progress in our work to encourage a wider range of people to apply for judicial appointment by improving the information offered to potential candidates. In particular:
	The launch today of a new booklet, "Step up to a Judicial Career" and an accompanying DVD;
	A new leaflet about judicial appointments aimed at encouraging students to consider judicial appointment as part of a legal career;
	Continuation of our programme of information events, with invaluable help from growing numbers of judicial "role models";
	Growing numbers of participants in our Work Shadowing Scheme, with extremely positive feedback;
	Piloting a scheme to encourage members of under-represented groups to apply for specific appointments;
	Increased uptake of our e-newsletter—there are now well over a thousand regular recipients;
	The launch today of a new judicial diversity page on the Department's website, and improved accessibility to the site's information about judicial appointments;
	Commissioning research on barriers to appointment perceived by women and black and minority ethnic lawyers—I expect to publish full results early in 2006.
	There is still much to do. There is an untapped pool of potential judicial talent, particularly among solicitors, and my Department, in partnership with the Law Society, is looking at how that might be harnessed. There is little point, however, in encouraging people to apply for appointment if judicial life itself is difficult to fit in with domestic commitments. I have already taken action to address this issue: many salaried judges are now able to work part-time, and I recently approved the appointment of the first-ever job-share arrangement for a salaried post. I expect much of our work in the coming months to focus on making the judicial role better suited to a more diverse judiciary.
	I am therefore introducing a career break scheme for the judiciary, to assist judges in accommodating personal responsibilities, commitments or outside interests. Further details, including the commencement date, will be announced shortly, but I expect the scheme to be up and running early in the new year.
	I believe that permitting judges to return to legal practice after they cease to hold judicial office would have a significant impact on diversity by encouraging a more diverse range of people to consider applying for judicial appointment. Changing current policy to permit return to practice would encourage lawyers to consider judicial office earlier in their careers. I am minded to go ahead with this change for judges below High Court level, but before making a final decision I will ask the Judges' Council for their views on the matter. I shall also need to consider what conditions and safeguards should apply where judges do return to practice, and whether it would also be appropriate to permit those who have served at the level of High Court Judge and above to return to practice. I expect to consult stakeholders on these issues in the near future.
	My Department is also taking forward work to reduce or remove altogether barriers faced by disabled judges and potential candidates. Finally, because I believe it is important for judges to be able to progress over time to more senior judicial posts, I am launching a pilot scheme in the North East whereby Circuit Judges will act as mentors to District Judges who wish to consider applying for a more senior post. Mentors will be identified and trained over the coming months.
	This package of improvements will complement the steps already taken in recent months to increase the diversity of the judiciary, and will provide the new Judicial Appointments Commission with a solid base on which to build when it starts work next April."

DEFENCE

Appointment of a New Member of the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body

John Reid: I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Lord Young of Norwood Green for a three-year term of office as a member of the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body commencing March 2006. This appointment has been conducted in accordance with the guidance of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Gateways to the Professions Report

Bill Rammell: As stated in my written statement to Parliament on 20 July, I am able to inform the House that the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has today published Sir Alan Langlands' report examining the gateways to the professions, along with the Government's response.
	Sir Alan Langlands was appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills last year, following the debate on the Higher Education Bill, to act as an independent person to oversee the report. The announcement about his appointment and the terms of reference was made in a statement to the House on 12 February 2004. Sir Alan was asked to examine how the public sector and the professions can sustain and improve recruitment opportunities for graduates, especially those who do not qualify for the full £3,000 support that will be available in grants and bursaries under our plans to introduce variable fees from 2006. He was asked to put forward recommendations on actions that can be taken by employing organisations to provide clear and accessible gateways for all graduates who want to pursue such careers and which will benefit the recruitment needs of these sectors.
	In welcoming Sir Alan's report and its recommendations, I would stress that there has never been a better time for students from poorer backgrounds to enter higher education. We expect that 55 per cent. of all new full time students will qualify for a full or partial grant, and further help will be available by way of bursaries from higher education institutions. This means that the poorest students will have a minimum of £3,000 in non repayable support.
	In accepting Sir Alan's recommendations we are also supporting the strong sense of partnership which he wishes to encourage. We will therefore create a development fund to carry work forward across the recommendations. Up to £6 million will be made available over the next three years to support collaborative projects in the key areas suggested by Sir Alan.
	We have also committed to the establishment of a forum for sharing and developing recruitment and retention strategies. The forum will be key in helping to take forward Sir Alan's recommendations and in addressing the issues raised in his report.
	Copies of the report and the Government's response are available in the Library of both Houses.

HEALTH

Health Service Bodies Accounts 2004–05

Liam Byrne: Lord Warner, the Minister of State, Department of Health has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	"For the health service bodies listed as follows, their annual accounts and any accompanying comptroller and auditor general reports have today been laid before Parliament pursuant to section 98(1C) of the National Health Service Act 1977. Copies have been placed in the Library.
	National Treatment Agency
	NHS Pensions Agency
	NHS Professionals"

NORTHERN IRELAND

Community-based Restorative Justice

David Hanson: The Government have been seeking to develop guidelines to give effect to the recommendation in the Review of the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland relating to community-based restorative justice (rec. 168). The Review recommended that community-based restorative justice schemes could have a role to play in dealing with the types of low-level crime that most commonly concern local communities, subject to a number of conditions and safeguards. These were that such schemes should:
	(i) receive referrals from a statutory criminal justice agency, rather than from within the community, with the police being informed of all such referrals;
	(ii) be accredited by, and subject to standards laid down by the Government in respect of how they deal with criminal activity, covering such issues as training of staff, human rights protections, other due process and proportionality issues, and complaints mechanisms for both victims and offenders;
	(iii) be subject to regular inspection by the independent Criminal Justice Inspectorate; and
	(iv) have no role in determining the guilt or innocence of alleged offenders, and deal only with those individuals referred by a criminal justice agency who have indicated that they do not wish to deny guilt and where there is prima facie evidence of guilt.
	In line with the Review, there is no question of the Government approving a two-tier system. The guidelines will unambiguously specify the involvement of the police and other statutory criminal justice organisations in the operation of the community-based schemes. That is why the work on the guidelines is being taken forward by a group including representatives of the PSNI, the Public Prosecution Service, the Probation Board for Northern Ireland and the Youth Justice Agency as well as officials from my Department. The group has been in contact with the community-based schemes about the guidelines and aims to complete the current round of discussions with them by around 30 November 2005. Following that, in December I plan to circulate the guidelines to the main political parties in Northern Ireland as well as to the Policing Board and other key stakeholders for comment. I would expect this process to be completed in the new year, when decisions will be taken on the way forward.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Low-carbon Buildings

Malcolm Wicks: The low- carbon buildings capital grant programme (LCBP) will be allocated £30 million, to be spent over three years. It will replace the Clear Skies and Major PV Demonstration programmes.
	I aim to launch the LCBP by April 2006. Some £1.5 million of the funding package will be brought forward to allow further funding for the two existing programmes, in order to help transition to the new programme.
	The LCBP will be designed to take a holistic approach to reducing carbon emissions by using innovative combinations of microgeneration technologies and energy efficiency measures.
	As well as continuing to fund single installations the programme will focus on supporting large scale developments in the public and private sectors to act as exemplars and encourage further projects. Potential community beneficiaries could include schools, leisure centres or even remote villages that are not connected to the grid. Other projects could include housing estates or business parks. The focus on larger developments is designed to engage the construction sector more widely and to help push microgeneration products further down the road towards commercial viability.
	This grant programme is just one part of the Government's strategy to promote microgeneration, which will aim to remove those barriers currently hindering the development of a sustainable market for these products.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Women and Pensions

David Blunkett: I have today published "Women and Pensions: The Evidence", a compendium of statistics and analysis examining in detail the key influences on the level of women's retirement income. The report has been placed in the Library and copies are available to hon. Members from the Vote Office.
	The report clearly shows that inequalities of income in retirement can not be tackled in isolation from inequality during working life. The Government are committed to a holistic approach that develops social and labour market policies hand-in-hand. In this way we can tackle the gap in pay, income and assets and break the glass-ceiling for progression through working-life, as well as address the historically deep divide in retirement income which has been a product of a system predicated on a 1940s world where women were seen as dependent on their husbands.
	Since 1997 we have made significant progress in redeeming past inequality of income. Two-thirds of the 1.3 million workers benefiting from the National Minimum Wage are women and the UK now has the highest female employment rate of the major EU countries, with the gender pay gap at its lowest point for 30 years. Two-thirds of pension credit recipients are women and the UK pension system is today delivering better average retirement incomes than any previous generation has ever enjoyed—with 1.9 million lifted out of absolute poverty since 1997, of whom 1.3 million are women.
	However, as today's report makes clear, in 2005, only 30 per cent. of women reach state pension age entitled to a full basic state pension compared with 85 per cent. of men. Only 24 per cent. of women reaching state pension age are entitled to a full basic state pension on the basis of their own contributions, and only 17 per cent. are actually in receipt of a full basic state pension based on these contributions.
	New figures from the Government Actuary's Department contained in this report show that by 2025 women are projected to have caught up with men and both should be reaching age 65 with similar basic state pensions. This is good news but is far from the full picture. Only 38 per cent. of today's working age women are contributing to a private pension and at present, retired men receive on average £50 to £100 a week more than women of the same age.
	Saving for retirement is also affected by household activities and attitudes. Child care continues to be predominantly done by women. Elder care is more evenly split but the difference is still significant—27 per cent. of women and 19 per cent. of men aged 45–64 care for another adult. Time spent out of the labour market has an effect on the ability of women to build up a retirement income. This is particularly important given that many women perceive pensions to be associated with paid employment, and therefore not applicable to them.
	Furthermore, within every ethnic group, women are less likely than men to have private pension provision and there are currently no foreseeable national changes to the pattern of labour market participation for ethnic minority women to suggest a significant change to their pension accrual rates.
	The comprehensive evidence in this report will inform our ongoing National Pensions Debate and in particular support the specific Women and Pensions Conference we are hosting in Manchester on Monday 7 November. It will feed into the final stages of Pension Commission's work on its own report and it will underpin our subsequent response that will shape the future of retirement provision in the UK.
	I would like to thank hon. Members and noble Lords who have campaigned and developed the case for lasting change—and who have worked with us to develop a renewed focus on this crucial issue of equality. I hope that all Members will join with me in building on this evidence to put fairer outcomes for women at the heart of our consensus for a long-term solution to the pensions challenge.